Cognitive

A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that the majority of youth with moderate to severe anxiety disorders responded well to acute treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), medication (sertraline), or a combination of both. They maintained positive treatment response over a 6 month follow-up period with the help of monthly booster sessions.

Although maintaining good blood sugar control is crucial for avoiding complications of diabetes, it has been estimated that only about half of patients are successful in meeting target blood glucose levels. The prevalence of depression among diabetes patients – up to twice as high as in the general population – can interfere with patients’ ability to manage their diabetes. Now a group of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators report that a program of cognitive behavioral therapy that addresses both mood and diabetes self-care led to improved blood sugar control and produced faster relief of depression in patients with poorly-controlled type 2 diabetes.

A new study is the first to show decreases in health care utilization and costs following brief treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI). Results show that sleep improved in 86 percent of insomnia patients who completed at least three sessions of CBTI. In the six months following treatment, health care utilization decreased and health care-related costs were reduced by more than $200 on average among treatment completers.

As people age, they often experience a decline in their mental functioning, but new research shows that a brief course of cognitive strength training can improve an older adult’s ability to reason and increase their processing speed for up to 10 years.

A neuroscientist and gerontologist team up to investigate the effects of a antioxidant-rich nutritional supplement on the mental performance of older adults without impaired memory. An initial clinical trial indicates that the supplement, including blueberries and green tea extracts, improves cognitive processing speeds.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a severe neurodegenerative disease for which there is currently no effective treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether repeated electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation would improve cognitive function and the pathological features of AD in amyloid precursor protein (APP)/presenilin 1 (PS1) double transgenic mice.

Using a computational model of addiction, a literature review and an in silico experiment, theoretical computer scientist Yariv Levy and colleagues suggest in a new paper this week that rehabilitation strategies coupling meditation-like practices with drug and behavior therapies are more helpful than drug-plus-talk therapy alone when helping people overcome addiction.